At least 125 Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith attorneys are said to be in the process of leaving the firm to join an offshoot boutique launched by former leaders of its employment practice.

The departures are largely California-based labor and employment attorneys, John Barber, a former Lewis Brisbois employment group chair, told Bloomberg Law on Tuesday. They’re jumping to Barber Ranen, a new firm launched by Barber and Jeff Ranen, an ex-vice chair in the Lewis Brisbois employment group.

“We had done as much as we could at Lewis Brisbois and we were both yearning for an opportunity to build something on our own,” Barber said in an interview. “The partners that remain [at Lewis Brisbois] are friends. There may be a little tension right now, but I have nothing but positive thoughts and things to say about them.”

Lewis Brisbois has seen more than 50 lawyers resign since Monday to join the new firm, according to Chicago-based partner Mary Smigielski.

She said Lewis Brisbois’ employment practice and the law firm remain “very strong.”

“We’ve been around for over 40 years and this is a change in the California employment practice,” Smigielski said. “The reports of its demise have been greatly exaggerated.”

Lewis Brisbois has about 1,700 lawyers spread across 55 offices in the US. The firm’s big corporate clients include Ford Motor Co. and Home Depot. It reported more...

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